


Rubeus Hagrid: One of the powerful and talented wizards in the Harry Potter Universe. A mini-meta on Rubeus Hagrid and his skill at magic.

by Cerridwen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Magic, non-verbal spell-casting, spell-casting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 12:17:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20907539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerridwen/pseuds/Cerridwen
Summary: Can we just talk for a moment about what an amazingly powerful but also talented wizard Rubeus Hagrid is?





	Rubeus Hagrid: One of the powerful and talented wizards in the Harry Potter Universe. A mini-meta on Rubeus Hagrid and his skill at magic.

Can we just talk for a moment about what an amazingly powerful but also talented wizard Rubeus Hagrid is?

Putting aside for a moment his gift with magical creatures, let’s just focus on his ability with magic, to cast spells.

We actually see Hagrid cast a number of spells throughout the books. In the Philosopher’s Stone, the very first time we meet Hagrid, we not only see him cast the fire spell _Incendio _…

… we also see him cast a partial human transfiguration spell on Dudley (which we learn in the Half Blood Prince is an immensely difficult spell and is only taught in the sixth year).

Now granted he was going for a full transfiguration and didn’t quite make it but still even a partial transfiguration is impressive.

When they leave the hut on the rock the next morning, Hagrid tells Harry that he is not allowed to do magic again once he has collected Harry. This is why they do not apparate or use a portkey. But instead of rowing Harry and himself back to the mainland (because what’s the fun in that) he casts another spell on the boat to make it go speeding through the water (much more fun).

So that’s three spells right there, at least one of them was a sixth-year level spell and Hagrid was expelled in his third year[[1]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn1) On top of all of this we never actually hear him cast these spells. He did them all non-verbally, again something that is very difficult and taught only in the sixth-year.

In Chamber of Secrets we learn that Hagrid cast an Engorgement charm on his pumpkins and did this well enough that Hermione said he did a good job.[[2]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn2) Additionally, when his roosters were being killed to protect the basilisk from the sound of their crowing, he goes to Dumbledore to ask permission to cast a charm on the chicken coop to protect them.[[3]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn3) Please note, he does not go to Dumbledore to get him or one of the other teachers to cast the spell, he goes to gets permission to cast the charm himself.

Now as what kind of charm it is, we are not specifically told so I’m going into the realm of speculation here and assuming that it’s some form of shielding charm. The first time we see Harry cast a shield charm is in Order of the Phoenix when he uses it against Snape in his Occlumency lessons. We do not see Harry use any form of shielding charm in the Goblet of Fire so again I’m assuming, based on the evidence that it’s a fifth-year level spell that Hagrid cast.

Finally, the last actual spell that we see him directly cast is in The Half-Blood Prince after the Death Eaters set fire to his hut.

Now granted, Harry had to remind him that the charm was _Aguamenti_, but once he remembered it, he certainly had no trouble casting it. [[4]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn4)

This brings me to the most significant point I want to make. Hagrid cast all these spells and, in most cases, did so correctly with _a broken wand_. A. BROKEN. Wand. We learn in the Philosopher’s Stone that Hagrid’s wand was snapped when he was expelled.

“[Ollivander] _Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again … Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn’t it?_  
_“It was, sir, yes,” said Hagrid._  
_ “Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?” said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern._  
_ “Er – yes, they did, yes,” said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. “I’ve still got the pieces, though,” he added brightly._  
_ “But you don’t use them?” said Mr. Ollivander sharply._  
_ “Oh, no, sir,” said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pick umbrella very tightly as he spoke._[[5]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn5)

Now, how many other characters within the Harry Potter universe do we see being able to successfully use a broken wand?

We see a lot of wandless magic in the movies, especially in the third and fourth ones,

but do we ever see a witch or wizard being able to _successfully_ use a broken wand? No, not really.

The closest person we see even come close to using a broken wand is Ron Weasley in the Chamber of Secrets and even then, the wand wasn’t completely snapped into separate pieces.

_“My wand,” said Ron, in a shaky voice. “Look at my wand.”  
It had snapped in two; the tip was dangling limply, held on by a few splinters.”_ [[6]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn6)

Now Ron did manage to make some _very_ basic repairs to it. Enough that it could still channel magic (of a sorts) but every attempt to actually used it ended in disaster, both for Ron …

_“[Ron] had patched up his wand with some borrowed Spellotape, but it seemed to be damaged beyond repair. It kept crackling and sparking at odd moments, and every time Ron tried to transfigure his beetle it engulfed him in thick grey smoke which smelled of rotten eggs.”_ [[7]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn7)

… and ultimately Gildroy Lockhart when he tried to use Ron’s wand to obliviate Harry and Ron, which is the one spell that he is actually quite gifted at and it backfired on him, wiping out his mind instead. [[8]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn8)

We never actually see anyone, other than Hagrid actually be able to successfully use a broken wand, not even Dumbledore, though I imagine he could if anyone. But even he I suspect would find it difficult. Now I ask you, if this is the kind of magic Hagrid is capable of with a broken wand, what do you think he could do with a whole one?

I also want to point out once again that Hagrid was expelled in his third year. A number of the spells and charms we see him use are at least fifth year or above. This means that even after he was expelled Hagrid did not stop studying and learning. How else could he have learnt sixth year level spells? Despite Ron Weasley being surprised at seeing Hagrid in the library in the Philosopher’s Stone, I suspect he would have known his way around the Hogwarts Library quite well. (So well, in fact that he managed to smuggle a book right out from under Madam Pince’s nose without her even being aware of it, and given Madam Pince’s legendary zealousness over her library, how often has that happened?) Where else could he have learned to do that kind of magic? Certainly, the Hogwarts teachers couldn’t have taught him, not after he’d been expelled.

It’s one of my personal head canon theories that Dumbledore would have done everything in his power to help and teach Hagrid. But this probably would have taken the form of subtle hints and nudges towards certain books in the library, idle talk of wand techniques over cups of tea and brandy in Hagrid’s hut. After all, there was little Dumbledore could do openly, what with Hagrid’s position of being expelled and having his wand snapped. On top of this we should never forget that as much as it is Dumbledore’s nature to nurture and teach so is his nature equally inclined towards secrecy, manipulation and … shall we say, circumventing the dictates of authority when he thinks it is in the best interests.

But this is only my personal head canon and whatever help he might have given Hagrid it would have had to have been discrete and hidden under the cloak of misdirection. The majority of the work and study would have had to have been done by Hagrid on his own time after his gamekeeping duties were done. It certainly would not have been the full-time regulated, organized study and teaching that the regular students received. Primarily Hagrid would have had to have been self-taught. In doing this he demonstrated (and I say this with more than a bit of Slytherin pride)

“_resourcefulness, determination, and if I may say so, a certain disregard for the rules_” [[9]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn9)

It’s no wonder Hagrid and Harry got on so well.

If you add this skill and talent for magic with his gift with magical creatures, power _with _mind you, not power _over_ creatures that most of the rest of the wizarding world would call extremely dangerous at best, kill on sight at worst, and you’ve got a man who is not only an extremely talented and skilled wizard but a very powerful one as well. This is something that goes unrecognised by most of the wizarding world, including Hagrid himself, though not I suspect by Albus Dumbledore (see my previously mentioned head canon).

It was this very blindness by Voldemort and his Death Eaters not only to Hagrid’s skill and power but also his intelligence (Voldemort calls him a great oaf [[10]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn10) ) that lets him escape their attention, to seem insignificant and thus beneath their notice. This in turn lets him become one of the most important and powerful pieces on Dumbledore’s chessboard. In many ways he’s Dumbledore’s rook, his castle. He provides not only shelter and protection to Harry and his friends during his time at Hogwarts but also like the rook, he’s a powerful and versatile fighter. In the battle of Hogwarts, he not only brings Grawp and the Hippogriffs into the battle but is a deadly fighter in his own right. [[11]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn3)

That Voldemort failed to recognise Hagrid’s power and intelligence is not only one of the reasons why he lost the war but is also indicative (and I’m saying this again as a Slytherin) of his complete and utter stupidity and blindness when it comes to recognising where a person’s true power and influence lies. But as Dumbledore said _“…but then, if he had been able to understand, he could not be Lord Voldemort, and might never have murdered at all_.”[[12]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftn12)

Dumbledore on the other hand was not so stupid or blind but rather was able to recognise greatness and potential even in the most unlikely of outcasts. Which is why Voldemort lost and Dumbledore ultimately won.

[[1]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftnref1) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone illustrated ed., Rowling, J.K. & Kay, J. p.g. 41, 48, 54

[[2]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftnref2) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets illustrated ed., Rowling, J.K. & Kay J. p.g. 91-92

[[3]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftnref3) Ibid, p.g. 153

[[4]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftnref4) Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Bloomsbury and Raincoast books, Rowling, J.K., p.g 565

[[5]](https://khantoelessar.tumblr.com/post/188150779525/rubeus-hagrid-one-of-the-powerful-and-talented#_ftnref5) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, illustrated ed, Rowling, J.K. and Kay, J. p.g. 71

[[6]](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard#_ftnref1) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, illustrated ed., Rowling, J.K. and Kay, J. p.g. 64

[[7]](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard#_ftnref2) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, illustrated ed., Rowling, J.K. and Kay, J. p.g. 77

[[8]](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard#_ftnref3) Ibid p.g. 230

[[9]](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard#_ftnref1) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, movie, Warner Brothers, 2002

[10]](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard#_ftnref2) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets illustrated ed., Rowling, J.K. and Kay, J. p.g. 234

[[11]](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard#_ftnref3) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Rowling, J.K. and Kay, J. p.g.519 & 589

[[1](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard#_ftnref1)2 Ibid, p.g. 569

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr at: khantoelessar@tumblr.com


End file.
